Arriving troops could see fires still raging in the capital of Dili and flames in the countryside.

A heavily armed international force landed without resistance in ravaged East Timor yesterday, and quickly began disarming pro-Indonesia militias responsible for weeks of savagery.

More than 1,000 soldiers flew into the former Portuguese colony on wave after wave of Australian transport planes.

The airlift, which includes the transport of armored personnel carriers and tons of ammunition, was expected to last well into today.

The commander of the arriving Australian, British and New Zealand troops, Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, said he had encountered no resistance, but he described the situation as risky.

Authorities said the real test is expected when the force, which will eventually number about 7,500 troops from more than 20 nations, moves into remote areas where the militias may be lingering.

Arriving troops could see fires still raging in the capital of Dili and flames in the countryside.

“There is a lot of destruction,” said Australian Maj. Chip Henriss-Andersen.

He said the troops were greeted warmly by residents who survived the three-week rampage.

“A lot of people were saying, ‘Hello, Mister,’ probably their only English,” said Henriss-Andersen, a naturalized Australian born in Cleveland. “I think pretty soon we’ll have them saying ‘G’day.'”

Although the force’s mission is to restore order, its arrival in effect ended 23 years of Indonesian rule in East Timor.

Thousands of East Timorese are believed to have been killed by the rampaging militias after a U.N.-sponsored ballot on Aug. 30 in which the majority voted for independence from Indonesia.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday his government wants the U.N. to create a tribunal to prosecute war crimes in East Timor.

“The government will cooperate as fully as possible with any U.N. investigation into human-rights violations in East Timor and do whatever is appropriate to ensure that those who are responsible are brought to justice,” Downer said.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and others have raised the possibility of a tribunal like the ones investigating atrocities in the Balkans and Rwanda.